Contact system for switching purposes



Jan. 9, 1968 K. GOOF' 3,363,077

CONTACT SYSTEM FOR SWITCHING PURPOSES Filed May 10, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet1 7 6 FIG. I. 9 F!G.2.'+' $5 8 IIII'IIII I INVENTOR KARL GOOP ATTORNEY.

Jan. 9, 1968 K. GOOP CONTACT SYSTEM FOR SWITCHING PURPOSES 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 10, 1966 mllv mm om m w 6 v N OE 8 m u m m 0 mn j m6 n N m E V n u m n: I m mm m 2 IF r A F 7 ll m? mm m N\ 9 If...wwu l II I I yl-r, v 7! vm. l i //I|l I mm] '1 Q 0E an 9 mm m 9 m w 2 mmm m I umw n n m l n "HP u mm l I u L 4% mm L I I} I n 3 Q |l\| Ii mm DrW NW L Q m KARL GOOP ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,363,077 CONTACT SYSTEM FOR SWITCHING PURPGSESKarl Goop, Schellenberg, Liechtenstein; Leona Goop and Christa Goop,heirs of said Karl Goop, deceased, assignors to Uninorm Anstalt, Vaduz,Liechtenstein, a corporation of Liechtenstein Filed May 10, 1966, Ser.No. 548,948 Claims priority, application Austria, May 11, 1965, A 4,271/65 13 Claims. (Cl. 200-168) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A structural unitdevice for electrical equipment which comprises a main housing formed ofinsulating material and defining therewithin a main chamber. A pluralityof axially disposed and parallel ribs are located in the interiorsurface of the main chamber and define therebetween a plurality ofgrooves. A plurality of contact bus blades are seated in the grooves,for connection at one end with electrical devices disposed in the mainchamber and extendable at the other ends outwardly of the end portion ofthe main housing for connection with external electrical devices. Themain housing is of pot shape. The grooves are formed such as to be openat their ends adjacent to the open end of the main housing and closed attheir inner ends by a second end wall of the main housing. An innerhollow pot-shaped closure body removably seated in the open end of themain housing chamber and projecting the closure body slidable insulatingmembers having projections received in said grooves and adapted toreceive selectively difierent electrical devices.

The present invention relates to a contact system for switchingpurposes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel and improvedconstruction of a contact system for switching purposes, in which thereis a main hollow housing, the interior of which is so constructed as topermit its use for insertion therein of a great variety of complementarydevices without altering the basic construction of the main housing.

It is another object of the invention to provide a novel and improvedstructural unit in the form of hollow main housing device, and otherparts, which may function as a base socket or terminal for engagementwith or mounting thereon of a variety of electrical devices, theconstruction of the main housing being such as to provide a strictlydust-proof enclosure for any electrical contacts or other elements whichmay be disposed therein or engaged therewith, so as to prevent anypossible breakdown due to contamination by dust or other undesirablematerial entering into the interior of the housing.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a contact system forswitching purposes, in which there is a main housing formed ofinsulating material and having a main chamber formed therein which islined with a plurality of grooves extending along its interior, and soconstructed as to provide seats for a corresponding number of electricalcontact blades or terminals seated in the slots, the housing beingprovided with a novel construction of a dust-proof outer coverextensible therein, which is provided with optionally located openingsfor outward extension of portions of the contact elements, as needed.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a contactsystem for switching purposes of an electrical terminal or base device,which is engageable at one end with one or more electrical outercircuits, and has a number of internal grooves for securely positioningelectrical contact elements therewithin, the housing having an openingat one end, for insertion therein of one or more supplemental types ofdevices, such as signal lamps, switches, bells, push-buttons, relays andother similar electrical devices, the main base being so constructed asto be readily employed for receiving a great variety of such auxiliarydevices seated therein and without allowing the entry of dust orparticles which might interfere with the internal operation or with theelectrical contacts thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a contactsystem for switching purposes, in which there is a main housing which isconstructed such, as to be entirely free of externally open slots andwherein all of its electrical contacts are contained wholly withiutheinterior of the housing, again entry of dust and dirt, the constructionbeing such as to permit seating at one end of auxiliary devices, such aslamps, push-buttons, switches and the like, and at the other end topermit egress through tightly fitted dust-proof holes, of the other endsof the contact elements of said electrical device.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a contactsystem for switching purposes, in which there is a main insulating basehousing, with an end closure, securable in dust-proof fashion thereto,with inner groove arrangement for seating firmly electrical contactelements or buses therewithin, the main housing and end closure membersbeing so constructed and of such simple design as to permit universaluse as a structural unit of such a main housing and closure with a greatvariety of auxiliary electrical devices to be plugged into the mainhousing, so as to eliminate the need in manufacture for resorting to agreat variety of designs of main insulating housings, thus reducing theneed for maintaining a large stock of different constructions ofhousings, and the resultant cost thereof.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a contactsystem for switching purposes, which is simple in design, inexpensive tomanufacture, rugged and long-lived in use, and which is easlymanufactured by mass production methods and at a low labor cost.

With these and other objects in view, which will become apparent in thefollowing detailed description, the present invention will be clearlyunderstood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a main housingaccording to the present invention, along the lines 1-1 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a left end view of the main housing shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational View of a closing plate and insert device foruse in closing the left end of the main housing shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional View taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3, with thecover plate shown apart from the main insert portion of this device forclarity;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional plan view along the lines 5-5 of FIG.1, showing a portion of the interior with grooves, and with severalcontact plates or buses set into the grooves;

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal view of a base housing according to the presentinvention, for serving as a plug-in base recgptacle and showing aplug-in device engaged therewrt FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional viewof a receptacle device according to the present invention, forengagement with a lamp;

FIG. 8 is a side-view of an insert body for use with the device;

FIG. 9 is a right-end view of the insert body shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional View of another modified form of theelectrical receptacle housing,

3 arranged for engagement with a push-button-actuated light, accordingto the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a face view of a contact ring for use in the device;

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of another modified form of theelectrical receptacle housing device, arranged for engagement with astep-by-step rotary switch, according to the present invention; and

FIG. 13 is a transverse sectional view taken along the lines 13-43 ofFIG. 12.

In connection with the construction of electrical devices, especiallythose involving electrical receptacles for connection with externallyconnected apparatus, for example, those needed for transmitting signals,such as by means of illuminating lamps, in hospitals, homes, hotels,motels, and other similar places, a difficulty ha always arisen infitting the outer housing as an essential element with the otherportions of the signaling devices, to such an extent that they would fittogether very easily and readily. In order to achieve the present,according to this invention, the construction of the universal mainhousing body with internal electrical contact elements, for bells, for

, push-buttons, for lamps, and other means for distant communication,including telephone communication, have been improved as disclosed, inorder to provide a common form of basic housing or structural unit,which would lamps, relays and other types of combination elementsemployed in electrical communication, should be easily fitted so thatmanufacturing difiiculties would be lessened and manufacturing costsreduced. In order to achieve this, in the past, resort has been had touse of main basic housings, in which slits were formed which were openlyaccessible to the ambient air, and in which the contact plates orelements or bus bars, were secured. With the aid of these contactelements in the present invention, the terminal ends thereof areextended through one end of the basic housing. The basic housing can beassembled with other and larger apparatus, and may possibly evenaccording to the latest mode of construction, be incorporated withprinted circuits by mounting directly in certain portions thereof.

A most important consideration in the construction of this type ofapparatus is not only to achieve a very remarkable reduction in the costof manufacture, but also a simplification thereof, so that the repair ofthe apparatus at low cost'is also possible.

An important feature of the present invention is to provide animprovement over what heretofore has taken place in such construction,namely that heretofore, even though a basic construction of main housinghas been attempted to be employed, such constructions have been in themain usable only for these specific types of switches, lamps,push-buttons, relays, etc., for which they were originally designed andintended, and were not universally employable for all of these purposes,or at least a great many of them.

According to the previously known types of construction for main housingfor such receptacle electrical devices, slots or grooves had beenemployed, but they had been mainly employed on the outer surfaces of themain housing, for engagement with the slits formed in the main housing.This type of slit construction has brought about the result that dustand dirt is able to penetrate inside of the main housing, so thatinterference with the internal contacts and other elements haveresulted, and failures of the devices themselves have resulted.

A main object of the invention accordingly is to overcome an inherentdifficulty which has resulted from existing constructions thereof, andabove all, to provide a dust-free assembly of the portions of thedevice, as to make it possible to use it as a basic structural unit in 4connection with apparatus of various kinds, and for various purposes, ina universal manner.

According to the present invention, the grooves which form an importantpart thereof, are not open at both ends, but are open at one end of themain housing.

According to a modified form of the present invention, in order toenhance the positioning of the contact blades, the grooves in which theyare seated may be formed in generally and preferably dovetailcross-section. It is thus seen that by the construction with the grooveson the inner surface of the main wall of the base housing, it can veryeasily be constructed so as to be free from penetration of dust andother foreign objects. At the same time, those portions of theelectrical circuits, such as the contact blades are easily reached forengagement with other elements which can be slidably engaged therewith,for electrical contact therewith. It is thus apparent that various typesof apparatus may be engaged with this base receptacle device,by'suitable simple modification of its interior construction, such forexample, as a complete amplifier, which may be plugged-in under thepresent concept of miniaturization for connection withthe circuits whichare connected to the base receptacle device.

In addition, the main base housing is so arranged that while it mayconveniently be formed in a cylindrical outer contour, at one end it hasan integral outer flange, which is substantially rectangular in contour,and with which there is engageable a closure plate which issubstantially secure against dust and dirt penetration therethrough, theouter closure plate being provided with holes through which the contactsfrom inside the housing may extend, without lessening their protectionagainst dust and dirt penetration. At the other end of the main housing,an opening is provided with at least a partial wall, and an axial flangefor the insertion at thissecond end of various devices, such aspush-buttons, lamps, rotary switches, and other devices which'may beemployed in connection with this base receptacle device.

According to a further embodiment of the present in vention, the device'may include an insert body which may be formed for seating a lampsocket and one or more turnable and also axially movable contaotrings,whereby various types of circuit changes may be achieved. The foregoingobjects of this construction are achieved in the present device in orderto enable it to be universally employed in connection with variousdifierential uses.

A further advantage of the present construction'is that inasmuch as theauxiliary engageable devices are both axially movable and turnable,there is the possibility and the assurance that the contacts themselveswill remain clean and perfectly conductive. By use of the contact rings,as disclosed herein, the various types of switching arrangements can beconstructed, and connections made to the sections of the contact rings,so that contact elements on the interior of the main base, can bebrought drical also in contour, and has on its inner surface a number ofribs or grooves 2 formed integrally therewith and extending radiallyinwardly therefrom, for the seating therein of contact blades or buswires 3, also seen in FIG. 5, for effecting necessary contact in thisdevice.

The contact blades or buses 3 which are seated in the hollow groovesbetween the ribs 2, are separately spaced from each other, as seen alsoin FIG. 5, and'have per-- tions 4 thereof which may be somewhat wider soas to conform to the width of the grooves, for frame engagementtherewith. From FIG. 5 it is seen that the end portions 5 of the contactbuses or blades 3 extend outwardly from the leftward end 1b of the mainbase housing 1.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, while the main body of the main base housing 1is preferably generally cylindrical in contour, it has at its leftwardend, as seen in FIG. 1, a generally rectangular end flange 6 against orupon which a dust-proof closing cover is seatable. For this purpose, themain base 1 is provided with a short pin 7, which extends through holesin the closure plate for proper alignment. While there are only two pins7 shown, additional holes 8 may be provided in the end flange 6. Throughthese holes, additional fastenings may be in serted, in order to enhancethe securement of the closure cover with the main base 1. At the otherend of the main base 1, there is a wall 9, which is integral therewith,and has preferably a central opening 10 with an axial rearwardlyoriented cylindrical flange 11 through which various types of connectiveapparatus may be engaged with the main base.

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, and 4, it is seen that a hollow mainbase closing body 12 is seatable in the open end of the main base 1, andthat it includes a substantially rectangular contoured closure plate 13which is shown separately therefrom in the side view in FIG. 4, in orderto securely close the interior of the main base housing shown in FIG. 1especially against the entry of dust and dirt. The closure body 12, asshown in these views, has portions or radially extending ribs 14 and 15thereof seen in FIG. 4, for engagement with two of the grooves 2 on theinterior of the main body, so that rotation of the closure body inrelation to the main body 1 is prevented. Further the closure body 12 isprovided with four corner portions 16, which are engageable with theouter flange 6 at its related corners, of the main base 1 and securabletherewith, so that the interior of the closure body 12 is also enclosedby means of a closure plate 13 shown in end view in FIG. 4. The portions16 of the closure body 12 and the closure plate 13 are provided withholes 17 or cutouts 18, 19 and 20, through which the contact blades 3which extend out of the main body or housing 1, may be extended.

As seen in FIG. 6, a portion of which shows an assembly of the device asshown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the construction illustrates how the closureinsert body 12 is assembled within the main base housing 1. In additionas shown, on the interior of the main base housing 1, there is acylindrical insulating wall 21, which with the aid of the engagementwith the grooves 2 of the main base housing 1, is so lodged as to beprevented from rotation. On the inner surface of the insulating bushing21, there are ribs 22 which extend from the corresponding grooves 2 ofthe main base housing 1. In these grooves 2 especially as seen at 22,are correspondingly bent or formed contact blades or buses 3 seatedtherein, which at one end are engaged against abutments 23 of theinsulating bushing 21. As shown, the contact blades 3 which arepreferably resilient or springy in contour and embodiment, are set topress resiliently inwardly against the corresponding contact blade bodyor bell 24, which forms a cylindrical and generally conformingly shapedbody 25 of insulating material, of the insert electrical apparatus 26,for engagement by insertion in the main receptacle housing 1. Thecylindrical body 25 of the insert device or plug-in device 26, isprovided at its left end with a locating extension 28, which isinsertable through the opening in the middle of the end wall 27 of thehollow closure body 12, it being seen further from FIG. 6 that there areretaining springs 29 carried by the extension 28 which spring throughthe opening in the end wall 27 upon insertion therein so as to enhancethe egagement therewith. From FIG. 6 it is further seen that the contactribs 24 are extended along the outer 6 surface of the main extension orneck of the plug-in device 26, which itself includes two parts 30 and31, and also as needed may include soldering lugs indicated generally at32, for connection with the interior and exterior devices involved inconnection with the plug-in. The plug-in device 26 is divided into twomain sections for convenience, and these in turn may be readily heldtogether and assembled by means of a retaining screw 33.

By insertion of the cylindrical insert base portion 25 of the plug-inelectrical device 26 through the opening 10 of the main base housing 1,the contact blades 24 are brought into good contact with the contactblades 3 which are seated in the grooves of the main housing 1, wherebythe particular contact extensions 5 of the contact blades 3 involved inthe arrangement are brought into a continuous circuit. As seen furtherin FIG. 6, and also in FIG. 4, the insertion of the cylindrical baseportion 25 into the interior of the main base 1, pushes the extension 28through the opening in the end wall 27, the opening being shown at 34 inFIG. 4, in the closure body 12, so that the retaining springs 29 arepressed inwardly on the extension 28 as they pass by through opening 34,and thereafter spring outwardly and thereby retain the insert device 26firmly in engagement with the main base device 1. In order to avoid anincorrect insertion of the plug-in device 26, it is also apparent thatone or more non-symmetrically located ribs and grooves may be formed inthe main base housing 1 and the plug-in device 26, or portions thereof,so that there will be no question as to the angular orientation of theinsertion of the plug-in device 6 in relation to the main housing 1. Itis conceivable that within the scope of the present invention, thearrangement may be so that the polarization of the various relatedcontacts in two or more poles, may be attained by this type ofcomparable construction. From FIG. 6 it is clear that the main contactblades or buses 3 according to this embodiment, are continuous fromtheir outer ends 5 through the grooves in the interior of the mainhousing 1, and bent in similar fashion as indicated, inwardly and thenis shaped with arched inner portions as at 22 to form spn'ngy orresilient contact engaging portions. For this purpose and in order toavoid the breakage of these springy portions, they are slightlyshortened at their right hand ends as seen in FIG. 6 in order to allowfor some degree of compression of their arched portions.

Referring now again to the drawings, and in particular to FIG. 7, it isseen that here a further embodiment of the present invention isillustrated, for example as an insert socket for a lamp or otherilluminating device of this type, and to show how the universalconstruction of the main housing 1 permits its adaptability for thispurpose. In the construction shown, there is a plug-in body 35 furtherdetails of which are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. The insert or plug-in body35 is seen here constructed as a lamp socket device, and is intended tobring the lamp into contact with electrodes 38 and 39 carried by themain housing 1, or at least engageable with its contact blades or buses3, after insertion of the insert body shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. From FIGS.7, 8 and 9, it is further seen that the lamp socket insert is providedwith terminal portions 36 and 37, which in conjunction with the contactblades 38 and 39 are engageable at one end with the inserted lamp 40,and at their other ends with two of the contact buses or blades 3 whichare seated in the grooves of the main base housing 1, and are extendableat their outer ends 5 for connection in an external circuit as desired.The end wall 41 of the insert device 35 is provided with cut-out ornotch portions 42, which provide lodgement for the bayonet pin typeengagment of the lamp 40.

The insert or plug-in device 35 includes further on its outer surfaceaxially parallel ribs 43 which are slidably engageable with the grooves2 of the main base housing 1, and so aid that the insert body 35 isaxially movable, but once inserted in the main base, remains unable tobe turned. As seen further in' FIG. 7, in the example shown, where it isnot desired that the insert device should be movable axially, the innerportion of the insert body 35 is engaged with the main base 1 by slidinginto a tubular body 44' whichwith the aid of the closure body 12 is heldsecurely with the main base body 1.

Referring further to FIG. 7, it is seen that upon the insertion of thelamp in the lamp socket shown, the pins of the lamp are insertablethrough the notches 42 of the insert body 35 and then turned slightly.The contact blade 39 presses then against the base contact 46 of thelamp 40 and exerts pressure also against the pins 45 against the endwall 41 of the insert body 35. As also shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, theconstruction of the insert body 35 not only is adaptable for use as alamp socket, as shown in FIG. 7, but also for other purposes. Hence theinsert body 35 is provided with a cylindrical extension portion 47,which is insertable through the opening 34 in the end wall 27 of theclosing member 12, the extension 47 being provided with two inclined orcurved or tapered cam ribs 48. Mounted on this extension 47 there is acontact ring 49 which is slidable for the purpose of mounting, and isprovided with metal contact terminals or segments 50', for electricalcontact with various ones or pairs of the contact blades or wires 3which are set forth in the grooves 2 in the interior of the main housing1, and shown at 3. The contact ring 49, as seen best in FIG. 11, isprovided with two grooves 51 and 52, or notches, for engagement with thecam ribs 48 of the insert body 35. It can be seen that by shifting thecontact ring 49 axially relative to the insert body 35, the contact ring49 will be turned or rotated in accordance with the contours of the camribs 4-8. By this means, as illustrated, the extent of such rotation isso chosen that in any one position of the metal contacts 50 each may bein contact with only one of the contact blades 3 seated within the mainhousing 1, or after a desired axial shifting thereof with two contactbuses or blades, so that these with the aid of the metal contactterminals or segments 50, upon such rotational movement are brought intoelectrical contact with each other. Referring to FIG. 10, it is seenthat there is illustrated a pushbutton operated lamp, which includes inits construction an insert body 35 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. On theextension or neck 47 of the insert body 35 there is, for example, acontact ring 49 similar to that shown in FIG. 11, slidably mountedthereon, and there is a cross-abutment 53 which is carried across thecontact ring 49, there being a compression spring 54, one end of whichpresses against a shoulder 55 of the insert body 35, and the other endof the spring 54 thus presses against the cross abutment 53, to act onthe contact ring 49. It is also seenthat the extension portion or neck47 also extends further inside the closure body 12 which is shownseparately in FIGS. 3 and 4, and as previously mentioned, is securelydisposed inside the main housing 1 and secured against rotation therein.As seen further in FIG. 10, a retaining pin 58 is inserted through thebores 56, as also seen in FIG. 8 of the insert body 35 and through aslot 57 of the cross-abutment 53. As also seen in FIG. 7, the lampsocket is illustrated, which engages the contact blades 38 and 39 of theinsert body 35, which contact blades 38 and 39 are brought intoelectrical contact with one or the other of the stationary contactblades 3 seated in the grooves 2 of the main housing 1. A lamp 40 isseated in the socket provided in the insert body 35, which lamp 40 iscovered by a transparent cup-shaped push-button 59, which isfrictionally fitted into the opening 10 of the main housing 1. By meansof the push-button 59, it is seen that both the interior of the mainhousing 1 and also the lamp 40 are at the same time covered andprotected against dust and dirt entry. It is also to be understood,although it is not illustrated in FIG. 10, that in order to secure thepush-button 59 against accidental dislodgement, it

may be provided with axially parallel longitudinal ribs, which at theirends have small resilient projecting lugs to engage behind the end wall41 of the insert body 35 in order to act as retainers for thepush-button 59.

If, for example, two adjacent stationary contact blades or buses 3seated in the main housing 1 are suitably arranged relative to one ofthe contact or metal switch plates or segments 50 of the contact ring49, then these two contact terminals 3 can be switched in a completedcircuit in series with the contact blades 38and 39 which are operativelyconnected with the lamp 40. Now then, if the push-button 59 is pressedagainst the insert body 35, the body 35 will be pushed in axialdirection to overcome the spring bias of the spring 54. As a result, thecam ribs 48 of the insert body 35 will engage in the grooves 51 and 52of the contact ring 49, whereby the latter will be turned or rotated independence upon the distance of movement or advance of the cam ribs 48.As a result of this rotation, there will be brought into electricalcontact with each other the above-mentioned metal blade 50 of thecontact ring 49 and the related or adjacent contact blades or elements 3of the main housing 1, whereby the electrical current circuit throughthe lamp 44 will be completed and so that insofar as there is anelectrical current from a suitable electrical current source connectedthereto, the lamp 4! will be lighted. When the pressure on thepush-button 59 is released, then the pressure spring 59 will push theinsert body 35 back into its rest or stationary position, whereby thecontact ring 49 through the cam ribs 48 will be rotated into its returnposition and the connection between the two contact elements by means ofthe metal blade 50, will be broken and so the lamp 4!) will beextinguished.

It is apparent, that at every actuation of the push-button 59 theinvolved contact elements will be rubbed up against each other, so thatthere will always be a good contact engagement due to cleanliness ofsuch contacts.

It is also to be understood that the lamp lighting switch shown in FIG.10 can also be so constructed as to be a delay lighting switch, byemployment of known conventional delay devices, which can be carried outin a simple manner. It is also to be understood that the example ofconstruction shown in FIG. 10 may also be employed as a simplepush-button switch, and in this event the lamp 40 may be omitted. As thecontact ring 49 can be formed with a plurality of metal switch bladecontacts 50 then, by simple construction the switching can be arrangedof many more switch circuits by mere direct pressing of the push-button59. By omission of the lamp 40 and installation of a delay or permanentcontact type of apparatus, which remains on, the construction of suchtypes of switches, is readily accomplished.

Referring now to FIGS. 12 and 13, there is illustrated an example of aprogramed or rotary step switch. In this embodiment it is seen, that thecontact ring 49 is engaged with a rotatable member 60 with which issecured a movable turning knob 61, through the flange 11 of the mainhousing 1. The rotatable member 60 is turnably disposed in a ring 62,which in turn is nonrotatably disposed in the main housing 1. As seen inFIGS. 12 and 13, a coil spring actuated detent or ratchet member 63 iscarried radially by the rotatable member 60 so that as the rotatablemember 60 is rotated, the detent or ratchet member 63 snaps intoengagement withthe teeth or notches 64 formed in the inner surface ofthe ring 62. These notches 64 are, for example, so constructed that theturning angle of the rotatable member 60 from notch to notch issufiicient to cause spanning of two of the contact blades 3 seated inthe main housing 1. These contact blades 3 press accordingly against themetal ring segments 50 of the contact ring 49, which as explained in theprevious ex-' ample is spaced from that end of the main housing 1 whichis nearest to the turning knob 61, and lodged against the closure member12. The rotatable body 60 includes a cylindrical end extension portion65' which extends through the opening 34, as shown in FIG. 4 of theclosure body 12. Through this extension portion 65 or neck there isradially inserted therethrough a retaining pin 58, which is within theinterior of the closure body 12 and on the leftward side of its wall 27,so that the contact ring 49 is blocked against axial movement.

The program or step-by-step switch shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 lends itselfto many variations in construction and use. For example, it may bearranged with individual poles for a number of programs or steps orcontact stations, for example, for positions for program stations, ordouble poles may be arranged for several programs, for example, with 5positions for 5 programs. It is also possible in this type ofconstruction to arrange one or more singular or plural pole stepped orsequence switches or the like.

It is understood that the invention is not confined only to the exampleand embodiments shown and described. Thus, within the principles, of theinvention, certain portions shown in some of the views may be combinedwith those in other, and for example, by suitable linkages, push-buttonswitches may be combined with turnable switches and combined with lamplighting switches and this may all be embodied in a single unit, ifdesired.

While I have disclosed several embodiments of the present invention, itis to be understood that these embodiments are given by example only andnot in a limiting sense, the scope of the present invention beingdetermined by the objects and the claims.

I claim:

1. A structural unit device for electrical equipment, comprising a mainhousing formed of insulating material, and defining therewithin a mainchamber,

a plurality of axially disposed and parallel ribs located in theinterior surface of said main chamber, and defining therebetween aplurality of grooves,

a plurality of contact bus blades seated in said grooves, for connectionat one end with electrical devices adapted to be disposed in said mainchamber, and extendable at their other ends outwardly of the end portionof said main housing, adapted for connection with external electricaldevices,

said main housing being of pot-shape, said grooves being so formed as tobe open at their ends adjacent to the open end of said main housing, andbeing closed at their inner ends by a second end wall of said mainhousing,

an inner hollow pot-shaped closure body removably seated in the open endof said main housing chamber, and having at least one projectionreceived in at least one of said grooves of said main housing to blockrotation of said inner hollow pot-shaped closure body relative to saidmain housing and adapted to receive selectively diflerent electricaldevices.

2. The device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said main chamber hasinner walls dovetailed in crosssection to form said grooves, and saidcontact bus blades are seated in said grooves to retain said contact busblades therein.

3. The device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said main housing isgenerally cylindrical in cross-section, with a substantially rectangularend flange carried at its open end,

a dust-tight closure plate engageable with said rectangular flange oversaid inner hollow pot-shaped closure body, and having holes formedtherein for extension therethrough of the outer ends of said contactbuses and wires, and wherein there is a second end wall at the oppositeend of said main housing and integral therewith, and having a centralopening formed therethrough, with an axially extending cylindricalflange carried thereby for the insertion therein and extensiontherethrough of electrical appliances and equipment used with said mainhousing.

4. The device, as set forth in claim 1, further comprising insert bodymeans disposed within said main chamber,

lamp socket means carried by said insert body means,

and

at least one rotatable and axially slidable contact ring means, carriedby said insert body means for use therewith.

5. The device, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said main housingcomprises a substantially rectangular end flange, and said inner hollowpot-shaped closure body comprises a complementary substantiallyrectangular end flange at its outer end portion,

outer closure plate means constructed and arranged for lying againstsaid underlying said flanges on said main housing and said inner hollowpot-shaped closure body, to that said outer closure plate means issecurable firmly to said underlying two flanges, and so that theinterior of said inner hollow pot-shaped closure body is enclosed.

6. The device, as set forth in claim 4, wherein said insert body meansis constructed and arranged for supporting a lamp, and comprises ahollow portion for insertion of said lamp, a plurality of contact busblades extending into said hollow portion and in engagement with theelectrodes of said lamp mounted in said hollow portion, said contact busblades being constructed and arranged for engage ment electrically withat least two of said contact bus blades seated in said inner grooves ofsaid main chamber, said lamp being formed with a bayonettype base withradially projecting pins, and hollow grooved retaining means formed in awall of said lamp receiving hollow portion of said insert body means,for engagement with said bayonet pins of said lamp for retaining saidlamp firmly in bayonettype fashion engagement therewith.

7. The device, as set forth in claim 6, further comprising resilientspring means disposed in said main chamber, for exerting spring biasbetween said insert body means and said main housing for biasing saidinsert body means axially outwardly in a direction towards said lamp,

said insert body means being formed with an extension neck portion atits inner end, for extension through an opening formed in said innerhollow potshaped closure body, for guided slidable movement axially ofsaid insert body means,

and at least one inclined turning guiding cam rib means, integrallyformed with said insert body means for effecting rotation.

8. The device, as set forth in claim 4, wherein said insert body meanscomprises an integral cylindrical extension neck portion,

a contact ring means slidably and rotatably seated upon said extensionneck portion, and

a plurality of metal contact ring segments carried by said contact ringmeans and so constructed and arranged as to be movable into position foreffecting electrical contact between at least two of the externallyconnectable contact bus blades which are seated in the grooves on theinner surface of the main chamber.

9. The device, as set forth in claim 8, wherein said contact ring meanshas at least one groove formed therein and wherein said insert bodymeans includes at least one inclined turning guiding cam rib meansextending outwardly therefrom, for engagement with said contact ringgroove whereby upon axial movement of said insert body means, saidcontact ring means is rotatable by such engagement with said I cam ribmeans.

10. The device, as set forth in claim 9, wherein said extension neckportion of said insert body means is hollow,

longitudinal slot means formed through said extension neck portion andthe Wall of said inner hollow potshaped closure body through which saidneck portion extends,

a transverse abutment member extending through said slot means andthrough the interior of said extension neck portion, and secured to saidcontact ring means for movement therewith in an axial direction, butwithout blocking rotation of said contact ring means,

retaining pin means carried by said extension neck portion at itsoutermost end inwardly of said inner hollow pot-shaped closure body, forblocking engagement of said extension neck portion therewith, and

resilient spring means acting between said transverse abutment memberand said insert body means, for exerting resilient bias for maintainingreleasably the normal orientation of said contact ring means against theinner surface of said insert body means.

11. The device as set forth in claim 4, further comprising transparentpush-button means axially slidably seated in said central opening insaid second end wall at the opposite end of said main housing, forproviding visibility therethrough for a lamp carried by said lamp socketmeans, said push-button means being engageable with said insert bodymeans for movement axially therewith, and so seated in said centralopening as to provide a dust-proof seal against entry of dust and dirtinto the interior thereof.

12. The device, as set forth in claim 8, further comprising rotaryswitch device means disposed within said main chamber,

and comprising a plurality of rotary rest positions formed in saidrotary switch device means and correspondingly related to saidlongitudinal grooves formed in said main chamber of said main housing,

and whereby said contact ring means is so constructed and arranged forengagement with the rotatable body of said rotary switch device means,and in relation to said cylindrical end flange of said main housingthrough which said rotary switch device means extends, for alfordingstep-by-step switch engagement with various contact bus blades in saidgrooves, and

a rotatable switch actuating knob carried by said rotary switch devicemeans, and extending outwardly of said cylindrical flange of said mainhousing for permitting manual rotation of said rotary switch devicemeans.

13. The device, as set forth in claim 6, wherein said contact bus bladesare extended at their inner ends inwardly of the inner surface of saidmain chamber, and arched to form resilient contact members,

an electrical device engageable with and insertable into said mainchamber, and comprising a plurality of polarized contact members forelectrical contact with said arched contact members in said mainchamber,

said electrical device comprising a neck portion for carrying saidcontact members, and extensible into said main chamber, and

an outer extension portion engageable through an opening in said innerhollow pot-shaped closure means, and carrying resilient releasablelocking means for retaining the same in said engagement.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,219,781 11/1965 Miller et al200--166 ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Primary Examiner.

H. O. JONES, Assistant Examiner.

